Le Sougey is a very old Bresse farming estate, whose 35 hectares of hedged farmland now boast a listed farmhouse (1460) converted into a local museum, a Bresse poultry farm and organic vegetable production.
The Sougey lands were once owned by local nobles such as the Lords of Châtillon-les-Dombes, the Lords of Loriol (or Asnières) and the Chossats.
Now smaller, the estate is best known for its old farmhouse, said to be the oldest in Bresse (1460). Listed as a historic monument in 1946, it has been the property of the Département since 2002 and has been converted into a local museum.
The farm consists of four buildings: a furnished main building or "house", a farm building with a barn and small stables, an oven with pigsties and a large stable occupying almost the entire building.
The house features an intact Saracen fireplace, whose exposed brick bolster is the only one on a square base with that of Mollardoury. Known as "baroque", it is topped by a bell tower framed by four small pinnacles.
The buildings feature exhibitions of antique tools and costumes, as well as a reconstructed classroom. The bocage surrounding the farm features 6 km of hedges and long avenues lined with hundred-year-old oak trees, classified as a sensitive natural area (ENS). There are also two ponds, a conservatory orchard of apple and pear trees, and an interpretation trail on Bresse poultry, the bocage and Bresse architecture. A pair of donkeys, Romeo and Juliette, the farm's mascots, await visitors of all ages.
The estate still bears the memory of its last occupant, Maria FAVIER, an emblematic figure of the Bresse region, whose stories enchanted personalities such as Jacky Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot and VGE.
An interpretive trail runs 550m around the farm, with interactive stations in English and French. It is accessible to people with reduced mobility, and takes visitors on a tour of the Bresse PDO poultry farm and the farm's animals: donkeys, sheep and goats.
For younger visitors:
Discovery games are available:
Orientation games for children on 3 themes:
-- animals of the bocage
- the trees of Sougey :
- Bresse architecture
Traditional games may also be of interest to children: bowling, boules...
Bourg-en-Bresse Destinations - Office de tourisme - 23/12/2024
www.bourgenbressedestinations.fr
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Adult: 4 € (Snacks (crêpes and fruit juice) available for an additional €3). Free entry for children < 18 years. For groups, special rates on request: 06 41 41 54 05.
From 01/07 to 31/08/2025 Opening hours on Thursday between 2 pm and 6 pm. Open on request for groups from March to November. Tel: 06 41 41 54 05.
Phone : 06 41 41 54 05
Email : lesamisdusougey@gmail.com
Website : www.bresse-sougey.net
Facebook : www.facebook.com/people/les-amis-du-sougey/100095394903657/
Google+ : maps.google.com/?cid=14379565740548079072
In Montrevel-en-Bresse, towards Châlon-sur-Saône, turn left at the second set of traffic lights and follow the signs to "Ferme du Sougey".
Maria Favier (1911-2000) A legendary figure in the Bresse region, she was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Reyssouze, in the hamlet of Montiernoz. In 1922, her parents, wealthy farmers, bought the 35-hectare Sougey estate where she lived her whole life. She and her brother received it as a gift in 1945. After her brother's death in 1978, Maria remained alone on the farm with Pierre, her valet. Her door was always open to visitors from France and abroad. A friend of former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, she was even invited to the garden party at the Elysée Palace! Other celebrities such as Georges Blanc and Paul Bocuse came to visit her at poultry competitions, where she always won first prize for her geese. Her visitors' book boasts the signatures of Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy, among others. She was always happy to welcome visitors interested in life on the estate and in the stories she told them about her life as a farmer and her love of Bresse... And so she became known as "the Sougey storyteller". She died at the estate in March 2000.
The site is managed by the association "Les Amis du Sougey et de la Bresse", which offers guided tours for individuals and groups, as well as events (Bresse snack) and a biennial sound and light show (over 350 volunteer actors directed by Xavier ARLOD), the profits from which are reinvested in safeguarding the farm.